Eiji's Story
by OROgoldenpair1
Summary: It's a new vision through Eiji's life, about his ups and downs. Will his middle school life allow him to be the man he wants be in the future? Or will it hinder his purpose? And who I wonder is meddling in his life affairs? *glares at inui and fuji* XD
1. Chapter 1

Hey everybody! It's me, OROgoldenpair1. I have created a new story, yes! This one is not a crossover. If you want to see my crossover story, Go to Naruto and the Prince of Tennis crossover story list. It is called Ryoma's Ninja Troubles. This story is a little different, I'm twisting it my own way. Hope you like! (PS: I know Eiji is in his 3rd year in the series, but lets pretend it's just year 2.)

"Eiji!" Oishi called out. I turned around to face him. " Oh! Oishi! I was looking for you, so we could eat lunch together." I called back at him. The school's cafeteria was full and busy, like always. We found an empty table, and sat. It was only two seconds before the whole Seigaku Tennis Regulars sat down with us. "Yo, Eiji! Are you gonna come to church tonight?" Momo said, his mouth half full. "Yup!" I said, nodding. "You guys are so committed to church, aren't you? It's annoying." Ryoma said, looking at them with the corner of his eyes. I and Momo simply ignored his statement. "Baka Mamushi, are you coming too? Oh wait, the only reason you would come is for the food, right?" Momo said with squinted eyes and an anime sweat drop. All of a sudden Kaido said "Pretty much." I looked at him with amazement, realizing this was one of those rare moments where he and Momo would actually agree on something. "Oishi, are you coming as well?" I said, facing him. "I can't do it tonight, my mom is giving birth. The doctors said it must be tonight, so I have to go there. It's a shame though..." Oishi said, a finger on his chin. "Oh yeah! I forgot that 8 months had passed by..." I said, mimicking his position of thought. "Oh, I forgot! Where's Fuji-sempai?" Momo said, looking around the room. I knew some where nearby that Fuji was eating lunch all by himself on the roof of _some_ building. I didn't even want to guess.

My name is Kikumaru Eiji. People call me Eiji, because it's easier. Three years ago, my father died. I loved him very much. Ever since, I, my mom, and my sister were never the same. My mom never once gave marrying a second husband as a thought in her mind. I used to do a lot of stuff, bad stuff. I was always forcing girls to give me a second look, I used to smoke, and I used to steal, too. It was a bunch of crap, actually. Since my dad died, my mom had taken us to church. She always said "It's good for us during this hard time." I never once believed that some words and a book could heal my heart. That was until I met Lucy, my summer school counselor. She was always nice to the kids, and she made me understand things, and eventually I got smarter in every subject. She would always say "You sow what you reap." Or, "You know, Jesus said a couple of times 'Ask and it shall be given unto you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened.' You guys should try to ask if you ever need help. That's what I'm here for." After two summers, I didn't need to go to summer school anymore. She said I had finally found my way. The next month, she got into an accident and died. I was completely shaken. I would do all of those bad stuff to show emotion rather than crying. Well, I guess that's enough of the sad past. Perhaps I should tell you what happened later.

It was one Sunday that my family went to church. As always, the preacher would mention at least something about giving your heart to God, and that God in human form died for us. So that we can at least have some way into the kingdom of Heaven. That day, I actually listened. I was flipping paged of the Bible like a maniac. Of course I was still skeptical, but I wanted to know what this whole ordeal was really about. After church, I met with the pastor. I opened up to him, and told him my life. His eyes opened for each word said. "I want to know how Jesus can love me. I mean, I've been through so much. And I've done so many wrong things. And two people I actually cared for have died. You expect me to 'Know Jesus' like that?" I said after I was done telling my story. "Listen, listen! Life is hard on everyone. I know that through personal experience. But I don't expect you to. There is a thing called Faith. When you believe God can do something for you, and you wont give up. That is what carried me through troubles. And God has always had something better on the end on the tunnel. For the things he gives us, like LIFE its self, and sacrificing His Son, I feel it's only natural to bow down to him. And when you learn to respect God, you also learn his word. He says that we should honor him, and that he will give us eternal life. Have I mentioned John 3:16? 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.' You see, no matter what you've done, God still holds a place for you in his heart because he is our Father, and we are his children. He created us, from Adam and Eve. We must know that we from birth are sinners, because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil." He said, adjusting his chair. "I can give you examples of stories that I think God is telling me to show to you." He said, sipping a little coffee.

From then my life changed. I was no more into bad stuff, AKA sin, because I now could see how wrong those things really were. They could decide if I went to Heaven or Hell, or if I was alive or dead even. After my year of training from the youth counselor and the pastor himself, it was time for me to go to Seishun Gakuen Middle School, also known as Seigaku for short. I made friends easily, and by the first month, I had my own fan-club. But I did not let that get into my head. I had a real mission to do: Try to preach the Gospel to people, while still learning of it myself. Well, a lot of stuff happened, and I got into the tennis club because they saw my Acrobatic play come into good use. I met my team, and everything was good, until I had the dreaded word. Puberty. Oh gosh, it was crazy. I mean, every girl that I passed, my heart would start pumping non necessarily. I would have to race to the bathroom to calm myself. Also, I had those weird dreams that would include me and another random girl from school on a date. _Then_ I had those... Ugh, I don't wanna even talk about it. It was crazy, period. Finally, school went by so fast that I was already in my second year. It was that time when the freshmen Ryoma Echizen came to the team. I didn't like him at first, but now he's my little Ochibi! I tried speaking to him several times on christian related stuff, but he totally tuned me out. It was before the beginning of the 2008 Tokyo District games that I finally convinced Momo and Oishi to come with me to church. Over time they warmed up to it. Now we are officially Christians, and we love each other. NOT IN THE WAY YOU ARE THINKING, READERS! Ahem ahem... anyways, back to the story.

School had ended, and it was time for tennis practice. How ever, during a rival game between Momoshiro and Kaido, I fell asleep under a tree. I opened my eyes little by little, to see a girl at my feet holding out a box of Bento. "Sempai, I made this for you." She said. She was Sakuno Ryuzaki, a girl who has reddish-brown hair and has always rooted for the Seigaku tennis regulars. "Oh, Sakuno-chan! Arigato, but I'm not hungry..." I said, looking away and scratching my face. "It's ok! You can keep it. It wont turn bad easily, you know." She said, looking proud. "I know." I said, remembering the last time I ate her food. It never withered away. No matter how much you wanted it to. I suddenly did a flip, and landed on my feet. "I guess it's about time I get going to practice. Oh, Sakuno?" I said, stopping. "Yes, sempai?" She said in her innocent tone. "You can give that to Ryoma. I think you would prefer to do that, right?" I said, looking behind my shoulder. She blushed and started to walk the other way. I smiled ear to ear at that. Since he entered this school, I knew she liked our little prodigy. I wasn't too good on love related matters, since I never really knew how to like a girl. And yes, this is the guy talking with the 1,222 girls and 3 guys in his fan club. When I got to the tennis courts, I saw Oishi warming up with a couple of freshmen. "Yo!" I said, with the peace sign. " Konnichiwa!" I shouted. "Konnichiwa, Eiji-sempai!" The freshmen said as they bowed. "There's no need to bow, I'm just here to practice the Golden Pair's new formation, Australian Formation!" I said, fist up. "Eiji, you did not need to shout it to the whole entire court. Now freshmen, any of you who know how to play doubles, come and practice with us." Oishi said with an anime sweat drop. Two second years that I knew from science class came up. Of course I and Oishi rocked out and beat them, but they actually managed to get a couple of points from us. "Wow, guys! All you need to do is practice synchronized play, and you guys will get better." Oishi said, shaking hands with them. "Arigato, Oishi and Eiji sempai!" They said. The rest of practice was pretty much just a bunch of swings and war shouts. Well, that's how it was for me anyways... When it was finally sunset, Tezuka-buchou finally called out "Dismissed! Tennis practice is over! Announcements for the arrangement of the Tokyo District game are tomorrow!" "Hai!" the rest of us responded. I was tired, so I wanted to rush home as fast as I could to take a nap before church.

When I got home, I saw my sister watching television. "Oh, konnichiwa imoto-chan!" I said, leaning over the couch and kissing her cheek. "Oh, konnichiwa aniki." She said. (They said "Hello, younger sister." and "Hello, older brother." Then after this, he says "Where's mom?") "Where's kaasan?" I said, looking around. I put my book bag on the kitchen table. "She's in her room sleeping." My sister, Tenshi, said. "Oh. Well, I guess I better eat something. Do we still have some bento left?" I called out, opening and closing cupboards. "Yeah. Top stack." Tenshi said. I pulled out my moms homemade bento with delight. My mom is a professional cook, and my dad used to be a gymnast. I guess I got my tennis moves from my parents. After I ate, I went to my moms room and kissed her on the cheek. Then I went to my own room, and slept like I never had slept in my entire life.

It was 7:00 already, so we already were on our way to church. We got there at 7:30, 10 minutes before the real starting time. I saw Momo and Mamushi not to far away decked out in long pants and a collared shirt, like I was. "Oi! Hey guys! I hope you didn't have any trouble getting here." I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I can't believe I had to carpool with this guy." Momo said, sweat dropping and pointing to Kaido. "Fshuuuu" Was his response. Well uh, I guess I'll introduce you to my mom and sister." I said, moving through the columns of chairs. My church is fairly big, with a couple of windows, and it has a little stage/platform where the choir would sing, or the pastor would preach. Or just for announcements and stuff like that. Plus, It's painted blue, my favorite color. I took them to my mom and my sister. "Guys, this is my sister Tenshi, and this is my mom. Mom, Tenshi, this is Momoshiro Takeshi, and Kaido Kaoru." "It's nice to meet you. You can call me Mrs. Kikumaru." My mom said, getting up from her seat and shaking both their hands. My sister did the same, but looking with admiration at Kaido. "Well mom, we have to go to the youth center, and I might as well take Tenshi with us." I said, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the church. "Yay!" My sister exclaimed. It was 7:38 by then, so we rushed to the other side. The youth church was fairly normal, and we all paid attention. (I'm not gonna explain the contents- too lazy -_-') By the end of it, I looked at Kaido and I saw he was sleeping. "Kaido!" I said, shaking him. "What?" he responded. "It's time to go." We got up, and made our way back to my mom. "I guess you guys are done! It's time to go! If you don't mind, Momo-chan, Kaido boy, would you like to accompany us to dinner?" The two looked at my mom, then me, and then my mom again. "Well, I suppose my mom would be fine with it. The same with yours too, right Mamushi?" Momo said, turning to Kaido. "Ah." He simply replied. "Nya, this will be fun!" I yelled, jumping into the air. The six of us got into our car, after Momo and Kaido called their families. Guess what? We were going to Chili's! I loved their Shirly Temples so much, that was one of the ONLY two restaurants we ever go to. My sister was busy conversing with Momo and Kaido, so I just looked out the window on my left. The night was filled with stars, but so few I could see because of the city's lights. As time was passing, I began to sleep.

"Eiji-sempai! We're here!" Momo said, waking me from my sleep. (Seriously peoples, have you ever looked out your window then fallen asleep in a car? It sucks when you are woken up, right?) "Gah, I'm coming, I'm coming." I said groggily, getting out of the car. We went inside and were seated quickly. The restaurant was noisy, just the way I liked it. "Koko ni watashi-tachi o satsuei shite itadaki arigatō gozaimasu!" Kaido and Momo said, bowing to my mom. (They said "Thank you for taking us here!") "Mondai nai, mondai nai." She said back, smiling. ( She said "No problem, no problem.") We all ordered, and right on time the waiters gave us our food. Like always, as my drink, I ordered the Shirly Temple. My sister and Momo got the same. "So, how did you find the lesson? Enjoyable?" My mom asked us. " Nya, It was fine as always, okaasan." I said, sipping my greatly made Shirly. I was turning out to like that name. "It was better than last week's, I'll tell you that. I didn't fall asleep 3/4ths of the message this time!" Momo said, smiling wide. "Yeah, you slept 1/4th of it. And I _heard _you as well..." Kaido said. "What ever, Baka Mamushi." He responded, rolling his eyes with his arms crossed. Other than that moment, the night went well. I think my sister actually took a liking to Kaido, weirdly enough. We finished the dinner, left some tips, and went back inside the car. "I am stuffed." Momo said, patting his belly. With a sweat drop, I said "I know, Momo. I know." We dropped the two of them off at their houses, and finally arrived at our own.

What my mom didn't know was that I liked to take evening strolls every night. While everyone was asleep after we settled down, I jumped out my bedroom window in a grey t-shirt and blue shorts. I walked on the moonlit road, the cool breeze overwhelming me. I began to whistle, looking at the dark trees as I passed by them. "Sempaiiii~~?" I heard a voice call out to me. I stopped in my tracks, and turned around to the girl I barely recognized as Sakuno. "Oh, what are you doing out here, Sakuno-chan?" I asked her. I saw that she had been crying, so I went up to her, and wiped the dried tears with a spare tissue. "I finally got the nerve to tell Ryoma-kun how I felt about him. It didn't turn out too well." She said, looking to the ground. "Nya, don't tell me Ochibi said something rude to you." I said. " All he said was 'Mada Mada Dane' like he does about everything." She said, tears spilling once more. "Don't cry Sakuno-chan! You are one of the best people I have ever known. Someone will appreciate you. I believe it, so you believe it too." I said, hugging her. "Sakuno-chan, where did you come from? I'll walk you home. If you want." I said, letting go of her. "I actually invited Ryoma to Tomoka's birthday party. I was coming from there, and I was now going home. It's... It's... Over there..." She said, stopping at words to sob, and pointing to a street not to far away. "Che, I'll get Ochibi for you. Don't worry, Sakuno-chan." I said, taking her hand in mine, and walking toward where she pointed.

"Thank you, Kikumaru-sempai." She said, glancing towards the sky. "Mondai nai, mondai nai." I said, hugging her again. It was then that I realized something had changed. Since when did I become friends with Sakuno? Who knows... It was never really noticed in the real anime. I then patted her on her head, and left. "That was weird... Ooh that Ochibi! He's going to pay for what he's done to Sakuno."I said, with a fist raised. As I was walking back, it started to rain. I put my hand to my heart and clenched my shirt. "This will be avenged, or I am not Eiji the Great!"

Author: Ok, that last part really didn't happen. Maybe. Anyways, back to the story!

It was the next morning, and as usual, I didn't want to get up. "Eiji! Eiji! Bakayarou! Get up!" My sister shouted, while dragging me out of bed. "Nya! No Oishi, I just can't do it! You can't force me! Please don't... Leave me be!" I yelled in my sleep, arms flailing. At that point, my sister had to run, or else she would've laughed so hard that she barfed. (This was just a joke.) "Are? What am I doing on the floor? And why do I have a strange feeling I was talking about Oishi? Weird." I said, scratching my head. I just knew somewhere, somewhere Oishi was sneezing. I got up from the floor and kneeled properly, facing my bed. "Thank you for waking me and my family up this morning. I pray that you guide us this day and bless us, and give us protection, as well as my friends. In Jesus' name. A~men." I prayed, rising then getting ready for school. I rushed out of my bedroom with my shoes and backpack in hand. I said good morning (Properly) to my sister, then my mom before I had a small bowl of Kellogg's, then went out the door. As always, I was later joined by my best friend Oishi. " Ohayo Eiji." "Ohayo Oishi. I have got to tell you something. You see yesterday night I was walking on the road like I always do, and I heard Sakuno call out to me! True enough, she was behind me, but looking as if she was in tears. She said she went to Tomoka's birthday party, and invited Ochibi." I said, using my hands to get a general visualization of the scene. "Ok, and?" He said, obviously waiting to hear the good part. Or bad part. What EVER he wanted to hear. "At the party, our Sakuno finally told Ochibi about her crush." I said, putting my hands behind my head. "Who is she crushing on?" He asked, not really understanding. "Duh, Ochibi! Sometimes I wonder about you, Oishi-kun." I said, looking at him like he was crazy. "O-oh." Oishi said, scratching his face and slightly blushing. "Anyways, she said he told her his famous slogan. 'Mada Mada Dane'. Can you believe him?" I yelled, getting angrier by the second. "What? Well, I mean, I knew Echizen wouldn't be at that stage just yet and can be dense, but still! Sakuno is a very, very pretty girl. I don't see why he wouldn't at least consider it." Oishi said, scowling. "Oishi. Stop. You know as well as I do that we aren't supposed to encourage these things. But it sill makes me wonder." I said, finger to my chin. "Besides that, how was the delivery!" I said, all of a sudden getting pumped. "Oh yeah! I have a new baby sister! My mom and dad decided to call her Osumi. You know, after the first Japanese artificial satellite put into orbit. It is quite obvious my folks are into Astronomy, right?" He responded, getting pumped as well. "Yeah! That is a pretty name. So were you there by her side?" I asked, facing him. "Eh, that would be a no. I figured it would be too disgusting, figuring that I came from the exact same area my sister did, and having to watch it all. My dad said it was an easy delivery, not too much pain. And now, all my mom can eat is Ice Cream!" He said, laughing. "But, how'd church go?" Oishi said, surprising me. " Oh. Well, it went fine. Actually, I introduced Momo and Kaido to my sister and mom. After church, we all went over to Chili's, of course with permission from Momo and Kaido's parents. It was cool!" I said, smiling. I opened my eyes to see Oishi sitting on the concrete with his arms wrapped around his knees that were kept up to his chest. "Ra~kkih..." He said, before the anime purple lines above him began to fall. ( Basically, he said "Lucky." ;P) Sweat dropping, I said, "Oishi, classes are about to start. Let's go already." " Ha~~~iiii" He said, getting up from his sulking position.

Classes seemed to fly by, then lunch came. When I caught sight of Momo, I told him what I told Oishi. And yes, I told him about Oishi's words of the delivery, which Momoshiro did not want to hear in the first place. "Yarou... that bastard Echizen. He has no intellectual insight on a girl's heart what so ever!" Momoshiro said with a fist raised. "Eh, You have none either, or else you would've seen by now that Tachibana's sister liked you. And of course, you are so riled up you can not hear what I am saying at this very moment. Ah, so like Momo-chan..." I said, sitting down at a table, Momo ( leaving a blazing trail behind him) following after. After some time, Fuji and Inui came to sit with us. "Yo." Fuji said to me, while Inui was still looking over his newly gathered Data. "Huhh..." I sighed. "What's wrong, Eiji-kun?" Fuji said, rarely opening his eyes. "Well, I have this feeling that I'm going to blow up once I see Ochibi. Even though he's MY Ochibi! Wahhh!" I cried. "What are you talking-" He got cut off when he heard a struggle. I turned around and saw Momo sitting on Ochibi, nearly strangling him, pushing his lunch aside. "Momo! Get off! Get off so I can get on!" I said, pushing him aside to have my part in the strangle fest too. "Momo-sempai! Eiji-sempai! What are you doing?" Ochibi barely managed to say." I realized that I had done the wrong thing. I got off of Ochibi, and helped him up. "Sorry. I'm sorry for nearly strangling you. Momo's sorry too. Even though he's not ready to say that at this moment." I said, looking at the ground before looking at Ochibi again. "Why did you not accept her, Ochib~ii?" I asked in my annoying voice. He said nothing, and just picked up his lunch tray. "Why is because I know someone who will give her more than I would of the thing she's asking for. Eiji-sempai." He said before smirking and walking away. The crowd around us settled and I took my seat again. "Eiji's percentage of getting riled... 95 percent." I heard Inui say before scribbling it down in his little notebook. I gave him a look before asking Fuji what Ryoma meant. "He meant there is someone else who could give her more love. A different kind of love. That's why he turned her down." Fuji said. "Oh. I wonder who that could be... I better go find her." I said, before finishing my lunch and speeding off to the Ichinen trio's table.

Normal Pov~

"That Eiji is a Baka. And he STILL doesn't know." Momo whispered to Fuji before the rest of the Regulars sat down with them. Before anyone could notice, A smirk appeared on Inui's face, his glasses flashing a color of silver. "Good Data. Very good Data." He said, scribbling who knows what onto his little notebook.


	2. Chapter 2

Ohayo! This is ORO with another chapter of 'Eiji's Story'! I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own PoT (Prince of Tennis)

Recently on Eiji's Story-

"He meant there is someone else who could give her more love. A different kind of love. That's why he turned her down." Fuji said. "Oh. I wonder who that could be... I better go find her." I said, before finishing my lunch and speeding off to the Ichinen trio's table.

Normal Pov~

"That Eiji is a Baka. And he STILL doesn't know." Momo whispered to Fuji before the rest of the Regulars sat down with them. Before anyone could notice, A smirk appeared on Inui's face, his glasses flashing a color of silver. "Good Data. Very good Data." He said, scribbling who knows what onto his little notebook.

Present-

I sat down at the Ichinen Trio's table. "Domo!" I said to them, glancing at Sakuno. "Ah, Kikumaru-sempai! What are you doing at our table?" Horio asked me, putting down his milk carton. "Eh... I just um... wanted to check on Sakuno-chan. But know that I'm here, let's just talk and eat!" I said, laughing awkwardly. "Sempai, you came to check up on me? Thank you. I am fine now." Sakuno said, looking surprised, then bowing. "Mondai nai. And that's good to hear." I replied, taking a bite out of my corn. During the lunch period, we talked a lot about different stuff, a lot revolving around tennis. "Don't worry, Kikumaru-sempai! My two years experience will pay off!" Horio said, doing the peace sign in my face. There was a moment of silence before the table started to break out in a hearty laugh. I glanced at my watch, and saw it was time to go. "Oh, classes are going to start soon. We best be going." I alerted the group. "Hai!" The five said (including Tomoka). I glanced at the regular's table and saw none were there anymore. I guess we were having too much fun. We threw our lunches away, and exited. Before Sakuno could go, I grabbed her hand. "Hai?" She said, turning around with a blush. "Can we be friends? You seem to have none other than them, and I thought maybe I could help you with tennis. While still being your friend, of course." I said, patting her head and smiling. "Yeah. That would be great. But do you mind if I ask _why_ you are humbly making this offer, sempai?" She asked me, putting a finger to her chin. "Oh? You're asking me why? Well, I don't know. I want to get to know you guys. So, this would be my first friendship with a freshman. Or, fresh-girl, I should say." I replied, poking her red cheek. "See you later, Sakuno-chan!" I said, waving to her from behind as I made my way back to my class. I didn't notice before, but somewhere in a hidden hallway, a smiling Fuji and Inui were taking notes and pictures that could be used for blackmail. "Heh. How about we see where this continues to go, Inui?" Fuji said with a sadistic look on his face. "I second that." He replied, pushing up his glasses that were shining a silver color.

That day, I was off my good luck streak. I was late to class, and I got scolded. Then I had to sit next to the most feared girl in the whole school that always has a dark aura around her! I received 2 slaps and 3 punches in that classroom. My cheek continued to throb. Then later, some guys spilled their buckets of water on me as they were carrying it to art class. "Gomen, Kikumaru-sempai!" They said, bowing, then continuing on their way. "Nya! Now I'm wet." I complained to myself. I had to go to the nurse to get a change of clothes, and by the time I came back, class was over. That meant I was going to be counted as absent. "Oh great!" I cried. I was on the lookout for any trouble/danger, since I didn't want anything more to happen before tennis practice. I happily made it one piece! "Hey, Oishi!" I said, patting him on the back as I joined him in the courts. "Eh... Hello?" He said, wondering why I was in a happy mood. We practiced against some of the 3rd year students and second year students before we got dismissed. "Baka o kiku!" Ryuzaki-sensei yelled to the tennis team. (She said "Listen up, idiots!") "Hai!" we responded, standing strait as arrows. "The results are being told of the District games, so listen closely. Doubles pair 2 is Fuji and Kawamura. Doubles 1 pair Oishi and Kikumaru. Singles 3 is Kaido. Singles 2 is Ryoma. Singles 1 is Tezuka. Momoshiro, you are going to be on reserve. That is all." She announced with a strait face. "Hai!" We shouted. "Everyone, tomorrow we are going to work harder than before since it is only three days away. Yudan sezu ni ikou!" Tezuka said, his voice splitting the air. "Oi!" We yelled, and I even did a flip. ( He said "Let's go without dropping our guard." or "Let's go with caution." or just "Let's do it with caution.") I was confident in my play, and I wasn't about to let down.

"Tenshi! Tenshi!" I called out as I put down my backpack. My sister then suddenly came running through the hallway, panting. "Gomen, aniki! I was planting a flower in the back yard." She said, standing up strait once more. "It's ok. Where did mom go?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, she went shopping. She told me to tell you dinner is in the fridge. I already ate." She told me before skipping off to the backyard again. As soon as she left, I dug through the fridge and found myself a Subway sandwich. "_This_ is dinner?" I laughed. I went to my room, and laid down on the bed, eating my sandwich. ~This tournament will lead us to the Nationals. Seigaku will definitely get there. We will.~ I thought to myself as I threw the wrapper away. I slept after that, knowing I would want to get up later. At 6:00 p.m., I got back up to find my mom home already, and she was stretched across the living room's couch, watching Tv. I snuck to the couch quietly in an attempt to scare her. "Boo!" I said, raising my arms in front of her with swift motion. "I already knew you were there. I'm not falling for that again." She said in a monotone voice, without looking at me. She sat up and kissed my cheek. "Have fun at the tennis courts." She said, turning away again. "Wow. You know me that well!" I replied, grabbing my tennis racket and walking out the door. I was on my way to the street tennis place, hopeful to have someone play me. "Kikumaru-sempai!" I heard a voice call out to me from a block behind. I turned to see Tomoka from school running, but dragging somebody behind her. She suddenly stopped, and put her hands on her knees. "Are... you... going to the... tennis court two blocks from here?" She said, taking a breath between her words. "Mm." I answered. I looked behind Tomoka to see and equally sweating Sakuno. "Hi, Kikumaru-sempai." She said, exhaling. "Hi. So uh, you guys want to go with me? Or are you busy?" I asked them, racket slung over my shoulder. "I asked _just_ so we could go with you, Kikumaru-sempai!" Tomoka said, smiling. I shrugged and let them follow me.

"Here we are!" I said, gesturing to the field around me. "Oh, Momo, Fujiko! Hi-hi!" I said, waving to Momo-chan and Fuji who were already playing a game with each other. They waved back and continued. When the game was over, Fuji won by a landslide. "You are as strong as ever, Fuji-sempai." "So are you, Momo!" Fuji retorted. "Fuji-sempai..." Momo said, looking down with a sweat drop on the back of his head. "Mada Mada Dane, Momo and Fuji-sempai." A voice said. We turned to the stands to see a confident looking Ochibi, looking ready to play hard. "Oh, Ochibi." I said loudly, then quieting myself before doing a side glance at Sakuno. I turned to the two girls. "Well, Sakuno, Tomoka-chan! How about we play some!" I said, taking both of their hands to the next court. "Ah, Sempai!" The girls cried as they were dragged. The three left behind just laughed in my performance. Well, Ochibi smirked if you want to get specific. "Ok! First I'm going to show you the proper way to swing accurately! You better listen up." I said, my teacher side getting ahold of me. "Ok! I'm ready!" An energetic Tomoka said, a fist raised. She got in her place and showed me her form. "No, no, no. That won't do, Tomoka-chan!" I said, walking towards her. I moved her arm to a less bending position, and straitened out her back. Then after I had finished, I stepped back and gave a thumbs up. "Thank you, Kikumaru-sempai! I always do manage to get that wrong." Tomoka said, blushing. Sakuno then suddenly walked next to her and tried to strike the same pose. "You got it, Sakuno-chan! Now both of you try swinging." I said, waving at them. The girls swung a bit, then decided they wanted to try a game with each other. "Can we, Kikumaru-sempai?" They asked me. "It's not my permission you have to ask for. Go ahead!" I yelled, smiling at them. The two got in their opposite positions and started. Surprisingly, Tomoka got the first point. She smirked. "You can try harder, Sakuno!" She said, trying to encourage her friend. Sakuno suddenly sprouted up a face of determination. "I will, Tomoka-chan!" She said. I sat down and looked closer at how they played. These girls didn't get to hit everything, but I was amazed at the ones they did hit. Sakuno was better at stamina than Tomoka, so she could keep up with her hits and not get tired. Tomoka had a longer arm reach, so she could return the ball easier that Sakuno could. "Guys, I think that's enough!" I said, sweat dropping as I noticed the sky get darker. The two immediately dropped to the ground, being out of breath. The two continued to pant on the ground before I helped them up at the same time. "I think that was good practice. I like it." Sakuno said, looking up and putting a finger to her chin. "Of course! If sempai is here to help us get better, it'll be _really_ fun." Tomoka said, looking up at me with a big smile. "Well, if you're asking for more detailed lessons, I could help you." I said, widening my eyes. Tomoka smiled at her friend and elbowed her on her side.

"But wait! YOU have to agree to my conditions." I said, pointing a finger in their surprised faces. "One, you can't be girly. Two, you have to listen to what I have to say. Three, I want you guys to come with me to church. At least once. I mean, I never thought of asking before." I told them. "Whatever, sempai. As long as we have an agreement!" Tomoka said, sticking her hand out for me to shake it. I shook it and nodded. We three walked back to Momo's court, and saw Ochibi playing Momo. "THIS is for eating my left over hamburgers without my consent, Momo-sempai!" Ochibi shouted, performing his twist serve. As always, the ball whizzed by Momo's head and was caught in the fence. "That surprises me every time, Echizen." Momo said, scratching his head. "Let's continue, Momo-sempai." Ochibi said with a face of revenge. "Oi, sempai, isn't Ryoma-sama a little _too_ excited?" Tomoka asked me, tugging at my sleeve. I looked down at her. "Yeah, I agree. I have never seen him like this, except for when he's playing somebody strong in a match." I told her, then faced the game again. "Eiji-sempai! I heard that!" Momo yelled while performing his famous dunk smash. "Don." He said in a low voice when he reached the floor again. This was the last point until the game was done. The score was 6-4; Ochibi won."Still strong, Momo-sempai. But...Mada Madasyo." He said, taking a sit by the bench. (Another form of 'Mada Mada Dane' which means 'No, not yet.' or something like that) "You guys look tired. Care for some Inui Juice?" A voice behind us said. "Ah! Inui-sempai!" We said in a surprised tone. He pushed up his glasses. "Thanks for the good data. All this time I was keeping record of everything, especially _you_, Echizen." He said, bringing out some of that nasty green drink. All of us backed away very slowly. "No thank you." We said, purple anime lines forming above our heads. "Well, it's time for me to go home and attend to Yuuta. See you guys." Fujiko said, putting his racket in is bag and leaving. "Say, Inui, what time is it?" I asked him, remembering that I forgot to bring a watch. "It's 8:00." He said, not even glancing at his wrist or phone. "Ah! I'm going to be late!" I said, quickly gathering my stuff. "Oh crap... I forgot that Obaa-san isn't going to be at home... She went for a trip." I heard Sakuno say to Tomoka. "I'll try to call my mom to see if you can stay over." Tomoka said, flipping her phone open. She pressed one button, probably a speed dial. "Yeah, Mom? Can Sakuno stay over tonight? Ryuzaki-sensei isn't going to be at her house. Oh? Special guests? So she can't? Ok, bye." Tomoka conversed. She looked at Sakuno with a sullen face. "We have relatives coming over, and they are a lot. Sorry." She said, shaking her head. It seemed that the other regulars had heard the situation and were now turned to the two girls. "Sakuno-chan? If you need a space, you can come with me." Momo said, pointing to himself. "But oh wait... My brother and sister mess up everywhere... I guess I can't." Momo said, saying sorry with a bow.

"Well, Sakuno-chan, you can go with me. I have space, and I'm sure okaa-san wont mind." I said, slinging my pack over my shoulder. "Thank you, sempai." She said, bowing deeply. "Well, see you guys later!" I said, taking her hand in one of my hands and waving with the other. When I left, the regulars laughed once again at my performance. "This will start turning into something else, ne, Inui?" Fuji said, walking over to Inui's side. "Heh. I've already got my predictions." He said, smirking, and scribbling more into his book. "So, do you suppose we let _Kami-sama_ do all the work, instead of meddling?" Fuji asked, still smiling sadistically. (Kami-sama can mean God.) "Ah. Based on my calculations, if we go through with either of our plans, it could mentally scar both for sometime, and we wouldn't want that. Well, maybe you would, Fuji..." Inui said, getting quiet at the last part. Even though Fuji heard it, he ignored his comment. "Ok. We'll just see how this unfold. Deal?" He said, putting his hand out. Inui looked up and shook it.

"Ma!" I yelled, after we stepped in the house. "Okaerinasai, Eiji!" My mom said to me before looking on my right. (She said "Welcome back, Eiji!") "Oh? Who is this? One of your friends from school?" She asked, gluing her eyes on Sakuno. "Yeah." I said, before Sakuno explained what happened. "Oh! So you need a place to stay? You are welcome here, Sakuno-chan! Let me get a bed prepared." My mom excitedly said, as if Sakuno just became another child of hers. "Hi, Aniki!" My sister said, before abruptly stopping her stroll towards me. "Who's she?" She said, looking back between Sakuno and my face. "I'm Sakuno Ryuzaki. Yoroshiku!" Sakuno said, bowing. "Nice to meet you." Tenshi replied. Sakuno told her why she was here. "Oh! That makes sense. Well, I hope your stay is enjoyed." Tenshi said before skipping back to her room. "Sempai... Arigato." Sakuno thanked, bowing again. "My name isn't 'sempai', Sakuno-chan! You can call me Eiji, nya." I said, lifting up her red face. "Eiji! You can take Sakuno to her room while I make din-" My mom yelled, coming into the hallway before seeing us. "Nevermind." She said, laughing as she stuck herself back into the kitchen. "Heh, sorry about that. Here, let me lead you. The bathroom is the door across from your room." I said, scratching the back of my head. I went strait ahead and turned left, then made another right, leading to a dead end of the house. I opened the door and let her step inside. "Thanks again." She said before walking in and sitting on the bed in the far corner. "My mom is going to make dinner soon. And also, you can use some of my sister's clothes for when you sleep and when you wake up. I'm sure she won't mind. Just make sure to return them afterwards." I said, before walking out of the room. I flipped open my phone. "Konnichiwa, sensei. Sakuno-chan is going to be staying at my house." I told Ryuzaki-sensei. "NANI? YOU BETTER NOT DO ANYTHING TO HER, YOU HEAR ME, KIKUMARU!" The phone blasted. I immediately jerked the phone away from my ear and twitched. "Hai hai, sensei." I said, and I ended the phone call. I went to my room on the other side of the house to chill out. I knelt at my bed, and started to pray. "Lord, whatever happens at the match, please let us win! No matter what else happens." I laid down on my bed and slept, before Tenshi's loud voice woke me for dinner.

"Eiji! Time for dinner!" My sister called. I got up groggily and walked to the dining room, rubbing my eyes. "Thanks mom." I said, sitting down at the table, staring at the food. "Your welcome." She told me, setting down the desert. A few moments later, Sakuno walked into the room. I looked up and noticed she changed clothes to something my sister had offered. Sakuno slightly bowed and thanked my mom for the meal. She came to the table, and sat next to me. My sister and my mother finally sat across from us. "Eiji, you can do the Grace." My mom said, nudging me with her finger. I nodded. I closed my eyes before the prayer. "Thank you God for providing us this food today, thank you for keeping us safe to be able to eat this food. We pray you bless and continue to provide this food for the house, and bless the hands that made it. In Jesus' name. A~men." I said, opening my eyes once more. Then it was time to dig in. Of course, I stuffed all I could down my throat without getting it clogged into my windpipe. "Nya! This food is good!" I said, munching the food in my swelled up cheeks. "You say that every time, Aniki. Please chew with your mouth closed." My sister said, performing a karate chop on my head. "Fine, fine." I said, swallowing. I turned my head and noticed Sakuno was laughing at my behavior. This made me feel very pleased. A few moments later, my sister got up and pushed her chair in. "I think I'm done. Aniki, you can have my leftovers." She said, walking away briskly, going to the kitchen to wash her hands. "Yeah, I feel the same. I'm going to cook some more carrot cake for tomorrow's breakfast, since I have nothing else to do." My mom said, doing the same as Tenshi. "Oh, I have to call Miss Ryuzaki to tell her you are here." My mom said out loud. "I already did." I shortly responded before picking up a piece of meat from Tenshi's plate. My mom said ok, and got out her unused kitchen utensils. That just left Sakuno and I at the table. I glanced at her, and noticed she was eating slowly. I put my hand on her shoulder. "In this house, you can eat as fast as you want. Don't be uncomfortable just because of us." I said. "Well... ok." She said, before she started eating regularly. I took my hand off her shoulder and then picked several things off my mom's and sister's plates to put on my own.

We two finished our deserts then went to the kitchen as well. By then, my mom was already putting the pan into the oven. "Eiji, you have to watch dishes." She airily said, sitting at a chair and watching the mix bake. "Nya! I **hate **washing the dishes! I had to do it last time! Why can't Tenshi do it?" I complained. "Because I have a project to do in my room, Eiji." Tenshi said, walking right past me to go back to her room. I sighed, feeling defeated. "Ano... I'll help. If that's too much of a burden for you, E- Eiji-sempai." Sakuno said from behind me. I knew Sakuno was one that would heartily give, but man, sometimes she could be _too_ nice. "No, no! Of course not. You are a guest in this house. This is his job." My mother said, glaring at me for a second. "Please. I really do want to. I don't want to be stuck having nothing to do." She said, already going by the sink. "O-ok. If you really do. But next time, Eiji, you wont have help _again_. You hear me?" She said, switching her view from Sakuno back to me. "H-hai!" I yelled, bowing in fear. Sometimes I fear for when my mother gets angry. A chef can use any utensil to harm. "Can you watch the oven for me, Sakuno-chan? I have to take a bath. The thing will take about an hour and a half to bake." My mother said, smiling. "Sure, Ms. Kikumaru." She said. "Arigato." My mother said before taking off. Sakuno moved next to me so we can both do the dishes. "Can I do the washing? I mean, I didn't expect you to help me, so let me at least to the harder part." I said, taking a sponge in my hand. "Ok. I'm actually used to this, because Obaa-chan is at the school on after hours. I'm usually by myself at home." She said, taking the dish from me and drying it. I nodded and continued. But, there was this one dish that had what seemed to be an impossible stain to remove. I scrubbed so hard that the suds went flying everywhere. "Eiji-sempai." I heard Sakuno call to me. I turned to see her face covered in white bubbles. I reached up to my head, and felt my hair covered as well. "Ahahahahaha!" I laughed before she joined in. "Sa-sakuno-chan, can you uh... Can you help me with this stain?" I said, laughing in between words. "S-sure." She said, still laughing as well. She took the dish and scrubbed. "There. All gone." She said, handing the plate back to me. "How did you do that?" I asked, looking at her in awe. She took some paper from the counter and wiped her face clean. "Eiji-sempai, you didn't turn the sponge to the hard and scratchy green side. I~ did." She said, cocking her head to the side and smiling. "Gah." I sighed, having a humongous sweat drop at the back on my head. We finished the dishes and then I dried my hair, since it was still damp. We sat down at the little table in the kitchen, watching the oven.

I leaned my head on my closed fist. "Ne, Sakuno-chan?" "Hai?" "Are you going to be cheering for us, as always?" She raised an eyebrow at me. "Hai. Of course." She replied. "Sakuno-chan, do you have a moment to spare when you get back to your house? Because I think I may want to take you up on that Bento offer." I asked. "Oh? My... Bento? Sure! It'll be no problem." She complied. We sat there, just staring until the timer beeped. "It's done." I faintly said, feeling sleepy. Sakuno got up, put some gloves on, and took out the pan. "It smells really good. I feel like having one." She said, blushing because of her sudden urge. "Me too." I said, yawning after wards. She laid the cake on the table. "How about we sneak one piece?" I asked, already getting a plate and two forks. "Are you sure?" She asked, looking up at me. "My mom wont mind. We have plenty more." I answered. I carefully cut a piece, putting it on the plate. We both scooted in and took our forks. I looked up from the cake and smiled in her face. "Let's eat." I said. We cut the cake in two and ate our filling. "Yum!" I said, patting my mouth with a cloth. "Your mom is the best cook I have ever met before." Sakuno said, sighing at the savory goodness. "She's a professional cook. That's why." I said, wiping her mouth for her. "Thanks." She said, blushing again. I glanced at the clock on the wall and freaked. "Oh no! It's already ten o'clock!" I said. I washed the dish quickly and put it away. I grabbed her hand and rushed her to her room. "Why are we running?" She managed to ask. I didn't answer until we arrived at the door. "Because my mom usually comes out at this time to see if I'm still on the computer or something. I don't want you to see her scary side. It's best to got to sleep right now." I said, sweat dropping. "Goodnight, Sakuno-chan!" I told her, patting her on her head before I went to my own room, pretending to sleep. "Oh Eiji? Are you in your room?" I heard my mom's voice call out from behind the door. "Yeah." I said, turning on my bed. I tucked myself in and fell asleep 10 minutes later.

Author's note: This only told of one day. I know, it's kinda boring. I'll try to do better. Now, I wanna say another thing. I know the second match in the Tokyo District for them was Fudomine. I wont get specific about that match, because I forgot what match came first and so forth. I'll try my best. Now if you want to see a third chapter of this, REVIEW!


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